Romance readers in the Mandurah community will now have a much bigger selection for their next read as a popular Midlands bookstore debuts its second location on the foreshore.
To Be Read Bookshop opened in Midland last year and has since amassed over 20,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok.
Camera IconTo Be Read Bookshop stocks a wide array of the romance and fantasy genre Credit: Ava Berryman
Owner Lauren Allan first started as a BookTokker under the username Redreadsbooks when her passion for reading was re-ignited during a COVID-19 lockdown and she wanted to connect with like-minded people.
From there, she started Perth Bookish Baddies, a Facebook group with more than 8500 members hosting monthly book club meetups to connect readers across Perth.
Ms Allen said her shift to retail came from a desire to see more choice in the romance genre on her local bookshop shelves.
“I got kind of sick of going into shops and not finding the books that I was wanting to read, or not being able to find an abundance of them,” she said.
“I thought, if I felt this way, other people must be too, and so my husband said ‘well, just do it yourself’ and that’s what I did.”
As an avid romance and fantasy reader, Ms Allen said the shift she has seen on social media from the genre being a “guilty pleasure” to mainstream reading has been amazing.
“I think it’s opening so many doors for people,” she said.
“I feel like it’s something we used to be OK with hiding, but now we’re happy to put it out there and have fun. It’s given people a community, and now we get to connect about the books we’re reading and make new friends with similar interests.
“Opening To Be Read has really brought all of my passions into one space.”
Camera IconTo Be Read Bookshop’s second location is on Smart Street in Mandurah Credit: Ava Berryman
Ms Allen said there was huge demand for a Mandurah location, and she has been overwhelmed by the positive response since its launch on Saturday, August 29.
“I’ve been blown away with the support we’ve gotten,” she said.
“I had a lot of customers coming in to the Midland store and asking for a Mandurah location, but you never know what the turnout will actually be like.
“It has been amazing. We had lines on Saturday, lines on Sunday, the girls (her staff) have been kept pretty busy.”
With regular author signings, release nights and book clubs being hosted at her Midland store, Ms Allen said she hopes to expand the Mandurah location in the future to include similar events.
“The plan is to see how Mandurah goes and eventually expand to be able to offer the same things as our Midland store,” she said.
“So long as we have continued interest and support, we would love to see it happen.”
To Be Read Bookshop is located at Shop 6A, 8 Smart Street, Mandurah and open 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm Saturday, and 10am to 3pm Sunday.